This application claims the priority of German Patent Document 199 10 940.0, filed Mar. 12, 1999, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to an open-end spinning machine comprising a plurality of adjacently arranged spinning aggregates, each of which comprises an opening device having a trash removal opening, under which a channel for taking up expelled trash particles extends in machine longitudinal direction, in which channel a sliding carriage traverses to and from pushing the collected trash particles in front of it to a suction point, said channel comprising a side wall which is disposed in an area of dispersion of the expelled trash particles, against said side wall a lateral cleaning element of the sliding carriage is disposed.
A sliding carriage of this type of a known open-end spinning machine (U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,853) comprises a base body, which is provided at its bottom and at the side walls with brushes. A cleaning element of this type may be sufficient for loose, non-adhering trash particles located in the channel. However, the cleaning element no longer fulfills its function when the trash particles comprise sticky components, for example, honey dew, which adheres to the bottom and to the side wall of the channel, the side wall lying within the dispersion area. Honey dew on the bottom of the channel is not so critical, as here the weight of the sliding carriage affords a sufficient scraping effect most of the time. However, in the case of honey dew on the critical side wall, the brushes, which move past with more, or less, clearance, do not remove sufficient quantities of honey dew.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the known open-end spinning machine so that the cleaning element of the traversing sliding carriage is capable of cleaning the critical side wall of the channel of stubborn adhering trash particles.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention in that the cleaning element is pressed by means of a transverse force to the critical side wall of the channel.
In contrast to the above mentioned prior art, the cleaning element no longer just slides through the clearance at the side wall, but rather is pressed to the critical side wall by means of a sufficiently strong transverse force. This transverse force can be stronger or weaker, according to what is required.
The embodiments of the present invention can vary. In one embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning element is affixed to the sliding carriage and the entire sliding carriage is then pressed to the side wall. In another embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning element is slidingly supported on the sliding carriage and can be moved towards the side wall. In the former case, the transverse force must act on the entire mass of the sliding carriage, whereby in the latter case the transverse force need only act on the significantly smaller cleaning element.
The cleaning element is preferably provided with friction grooves or the like, which are arranged in a friction wall which can be disposed on the side wall. A friction wall of this type is more suitable for greater forces than, for example, the bristles of a brush in prior art. In addition there is the fact that a friction wall is in turn easier to clean than a plurality of individual bristles.
For the purpose of the present invention, the sliding carriage comprises a sliding surface guided on the side wall, in which sliding surface the cleaning element is arranged so that it can be countersunk. The entire sliding carriage can thus, as in the case of the known open-end spinning machine, be guided with clearance slidingly between the side walls of the channel, while only the cleaning element is loaded with a transverse force.
The transverse force can be activated in a variety of ways.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transverse force can be activated due to the traversing movement of the sliding carriage, for example, in that the cleaning element comprises at least one wedge-like guiding surface, on which, due to the traverse motion, a corresponding counter surface is disposed. The wedge-like guiding surface is disposed diagonally to the direction of motion of the sliding carriage, so that a longitudinal force applied to the cleaning element holds a component towards the side wall. In an embodiment of the present invention the cleaning element can hereby--according to the two traverse directions--comprise two guiding surfaces, which form an angle of approximately 90.degree..
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the transverse force can be generated by means of at least one spring. This has the advantage that any chosen degree of transverse force can be applied and that either only the cleaning element or the entire sliding carriage can be pressed to the side wall as required. It can hereby be provided that the cleaning element takes the form of the sliding surface which guides the sliding carriage to the side wall.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.